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January 2009

• The nuclear energy industry supports a three-pronged, integrated used fuel management strategy:
  
  1. interim storage
  2. research, development and demonstration to recycle nuclear fuel
  3. development of a permanent disposal facility suitable for the final waste form.
• Used fuel storage at nuclear plant sites is safe and secure. However, interim storage sites at centralized volunteer locations will enable the movement of used fuel from both decommissioned and operating plants before recycling facilities or the repository begin operating, ending additional federal financial liability stemming from the U.S. Department of Energy’s failure to begin accepting used fuel by 1998.
• A robust research and development program, including a commercial demonstration plant, should be implemented to recycle used nuclear fuel. The objective is, through closing the commercial nuclear fuel cycle, to reduce the volume, heat and toxicity of byproducts placed in the repository and to reclaim a significant amount of energy that remains in used fuel.
• Isolation of byproducts and/or used fuel in a specially designed underground repository is consistent with the international scientific consensus that deep geologic disposal is the most effective means of protecting public health and the environment. The repository must be licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission prior to construction and operation.
  
  An integrated used fuel management program includes key elements phased in during the short, medium and long terms.

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